Med schools look down.......?

[Alwayshope]

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Is it true that med schools look down on community colleges? Because I'm attending for 2 years and then I'll go to a 4 year. Someone please let me know. 🙁

 

[Cerbernator]

Yes, they do. The work simply isn't of the same caliber of a 4 year college.

 

[dave613]

Is it true that med schools look down on community colleges? Because I'm attending for 2 years and then I'll go to a 4 year. Someone please let me know. 🙁

Yes, it is true. Well, did you take your premed science classes at the community college? Also, if you plan on taking the science classes at the 4 year regular school, and you get a degree from there, then i think you should be ok. Also, that all depends on how do you on the MCATs though.

Just my thought

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Sorry man, that's affirmative. Make sure you don't fall into the community college trap of not doing anything worthwhile for those two years and only working crappy part time jobs. Volunteer at a hospital, look into research opportunities (difficult to find at a CC), GET GOOD GRADES, maybe gain some leadership experience. And most importantly, dont let anyone convince you that you cant go to medical school after community college 👍

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Oh yeah, one more thing - try to transfer to a top 50 university.

 

[shadowy onion]

Ya I need to agree.
But if you must, make sure to excell. Not B+.

 

[Bubchik]

Everything depends on yr grades and performance on the MCAT. My fiancee went to community college college, then transferred to UCLA, and now he is an MD doing his first year of residency. It does not matter where you go unless you are comparing Harvard to a community college... Work hard and enjoy the easy years of community college, 4 year college is a bit different. By the way i'm also a transfer student at UCLA, and though i went for two years to LAVC (com college) i still have a solid GPA and did well on the MCAT.


🙂

 

[Alwayshope]

Well I currently volunteering at the local Bioterrorism department. And I also plan on volunteering at the local police department. And the hospital at some point in time. I feel very discouraged now. I know your only speaking the truth. Is UMUC one of the top 50 schools? And I'm assuming going online would hold some stipulation as well. I plan to go to UMUC online. 🙁

 

[TTSD]

I dunno anymore. First of all, there are some very good community colleges out there that are just as good if not better than a lot of 4 years universities. Secondly, at least for California.. a lot of UC-caliber students are going to be attending CC's so they can transfer to a UC or under that assured transfer program.

 

[ball372]

Well I currently volunteering at the local Bioterrorism department. And I also plan on volunteering at the local police department. And the hospital at some point in time. I feel very discouraged now. I know your only speaking the truth. Is UMUC one of the top 50 schools? And I'm assuming going online would hold some stipulation as well. I plan to go to UMUC online. 🙁

Hi, though I'm no expert - here are some of my thoughts. Whatever you decide, make sure that you have some CLINICAL volunteering experience under your belt. Also, research is always a good idea, but esp. in your situation, I think it would carry extra weight. Maybe contact faculty members directly of various departments at a university near you (perhaps for a summer stint) and tell them that you're interested in going to medical school, and would like to gain some research experience. I've had alot of exp. in this particular thing, so if you want, you can PM me.

Also, above you mentioned the police dept. and the hospital. For medical school, they LOVE health-related volunteering, so I would go with the hospital thing first.

As for the online UMUC thing - I'm really not sure about this. I would talk to some admissions people at some schools you're interested in and ask them. GOOD LUCK!

 

[TTSD]

The Great Equalizer: Money. Doesn't matter if you're from a CC or an Ivy. Give a lot.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

If you do well at the four year (full course load, ec's, good gpa), I don't think they'll hold your CC time against you. If you screw up at the four year, you are definitely screwed.

 

[i77ac]

i went to jc. it seems everything is working out fine for me at the moment, for the 2005 application cycle, considering i've got 2 interviews already...

so no, it does not hurt your application. like others said above, just do well at your jc and after you transfer, and of course, kick a$$ on MCAT.

oh ya, do some extracurricular stuff...

 

[Mongo]

Anecdotal evidence is always better than facts. My personal belief is that there is a reason that people are at JC's. And if someone ends up there, most likely they can't get into medical school.

And also, you need strait A's if you go. The competition is sooooo much lower than in other schools.

 

[i77ac]

Anecdotal evidence is always better than facts. My personal belief is that there is a reason that people are at JC's. And if someone ends up there, most likely they can't get into medical school.

And also, you need strait A's if you go. The competition is sooooo much lower than in other schools.

the hell...? anecdotal evidence is always better than facts?? it makes no sense.

obviously you don't know what you're talking about. you should not judge someone's academic potential based upon their place of education. i've met plenty of bright, dilegent people at jc, well deserved to attend med school. and personally, my jc was actually harder than the top university i attended. ya, thats what i said... jc was harder.

however, i do agree that you have to get mostly A's at jc.

 

[DualSuperLead]

Anecdotal evidence is always better than facts. My personal belief is that there is a reason that people are at JC's. And if someone ends up there, most likely they can't get into medical school.

And also, you need strait A's if you go. The competition is sooooo much lower than in other schools.

That's it. I am through with these boards. 😡 👎

OP,

I can assure you, if do it right, you can attend JC and go to med school. 👍

Au revoir, SDN.

 

[principessa]

Yes, medical schools view community college work as less rigorous than work done at a 4 year college or university. That doesn't mean going to a community college will keep you out of medical school. If you do really well at the community college and at the university to which you transfer, you should still have a fair shot at most med schools. I wouldn't recommend finishing your degree at UMUC. It doesn't sound very rigorous and you need contact with people - to advise you, to do research with, to write you letters of recommendation, etc. I assume you are a Maryland resident, so med school admissions will be fairly competitive for you. Maryland only has two public medical schools, and one is the military school, so you are pretty much looking at UM for your best shot at admission, and they look tough for a state school. You might want to talk to them now about your community college and university plans to make sure they approve. If you are not a Maryland resident, ask the public schools in your state what they think. Finally, I must say, if you are starting at the community college because you aren't sure of your academic abilities, and if you do have trouble at the community college, this does not bode well for you. If you're doing it to save money or because you need to be close to home, and you do really well there, then go ahead.

 

[TTSD]

Anecdotal evidence is always better than facts. My personal belief is that there is a reason that people are at JC's. And if someone ends up there, most likely they can't get into medical school.

And also, you need strait A's if you go. The competition is sooooo much lower than in other schools.

?? Read my first post in this topic. There are a lot of people that are UC-qualified which means they're qualified for a lot of other 4 year universities that go to places like SMC to transfer to UCLA.

Furthermore, as someone brought out, there are socio-economic reasons. My friend, smart as a whip, decided to attend a JC for his first two years so he can be a spitting distance away to help his mom who was going through some VERY bad times and save money and help the family business.

Yeah, there are a number of reasons why people end up at JCs/CCs.. not just because they jerked off in HS or whatever.

 

[Skialta]

First of all, I don't think a school can discriminate against you if you went to a community college, but it might make the difference between two candidates if they were at the end of the app cycle. I spent two years at a community college and even went back after my BS to take organic chem when I decided to go back for med school. I had six offers for interviews and it never came up and I was accepted early on rolling admissions. I think you have to look at the whole package, if you excelled at CC and did crappy at 4yr State and have lower MCAT then yes it may hurt you. At the same time if you performance is strong across the boards and your mcat is decent then I don't think you have anything to worry about.

By the way a couple of the courses I took at CC in California were much better than some of the University classes I have taken. In my opinion it is a lot of bang for the buck.

MS2

 

[benelswick]

Community colleges are not necessarily less rigorous--mine wasn't. But there is something to the fact that an A at some fancy shmancy school might carry a little more "Wow." But I wouldn't base my decision on this. Your choices and your path are your story and there's plenty of room in med school for other narratives than just ivy leagers. Come to think of it the worst doctor I've ever seen was from an ivy league and seemed happy to tell people about it. Screw him and any other person who thinks a degree defines somebody.

 

[Long Dong]

I attended community college for some classes and got in to plenty of schools. I have friends in my class and in the class above and below me at my school who went to jc first then to a major univ. Don't worry about it do good and you'll be fine.

 

[Alwayshope]

I have to agree with the above poster. I went to junior college for 2 years and did almost all of my prereq's there. I transfered to a tough four year univ. and kept my grades at the same level. I now have three very early interviews. Junior college will not hurt you if ace it and continue to do well at a univ. Adcoms are not blind to fact that there are many good reasons for attending junior college, not the least of which is the HUGE financial savings. To discriminate against junior college students would, in fact, be to discriminate against people of lower and income as well as minorities, the last thing a medical school would want to do.

Thanks for your words of encouragement. That really helps alot. I couldn't sleep last night. I was so afraid my plans were going to be hindered from the very beggining. Thanks so much. 😉

 

[Alwayshope]

Yes, medical schools view community college work as less rigorous than work done at a 4 year college or university. That doesn't mean going to a community college will keep you out of medical school. If you do really well at the community college and at the university to which you transfer, you should still have a fair shot at most med schools. I wouldn't recommend finishing your degree at UMUC. It doesn't sound very rigorous and you need contact with people - to advise you, to do research with, to write you letters of recommendation, etc. I assume you are a Maryland resident, so med school admissions will be fairly competitive for you. Maryland only has two public medical schools, and one is the military school, so you are pretty much looking at UM for your best shot at admission, and they look tough for a state school. You might want to talk to them now about your community college and university plans to make sure they approve. If you are not a Maryland resident, ask the public schools in your state what they think. Finally, I must say, if you are starting at the community college because you aren't sure of your academic abilities, and if you do have trouble at the community college, this does not bode well for you. If you're doing it to save money or because you need to be close to home, and you do really well there, then go ahead.

Location, and money!

 

[Kazema]

Anecdotal evidence is always better than facts. My personal belief is that there is a reason that people are at JC's. And if someone ends up there, most likely they can't get into medical school.

And also, you need strait A's if you go. The competition is sooooo much lower than in other schools.

That has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever read.

And even if you meant to say 'anecdotal evidence is always better than statistics' your statement is still wrong.

 

[Alwayshope]

That has to be the most ridiculous thing I've ever read.

And even if you meant to say 'anecdotal evidence is always better than statistics' your statement is still wrong.

LMAO, and I loved your Applicant profile. It's very inspirational. It's my fav. so far. I wish you all the luck. 🙂